I WANTED to place on record my appreciation for the work local MP Angela Eagle has done for my mum – ultimately making her £20 per week better off. I went to Angela to talk about the benefits and support mum was entitled to, she then looked into it and discovered that mum was missing out on pension credit. Angela immediately arranged for this extra money to be paid which is proving to be a real help. Thank you Angela for fixing this.

Mel Hart, Seacombe

Ignore the media hype

THANKFULLY the ECHO has not got caught up in the tabloid media circus over the new offences that Jon Venables is alleged to have carried out.

Do people not realise that the licence conditions, under which he and Robert Thompson got released have worked and this is why he is back in jail?

We have to remember that these boys were 10 years old when they carried out their heinous crime. The people as guilty as them were their parents; guilty of neglect for not showing them right from wrong or giving them a loving environment to grow up in.

It is not a surprise that either of these men have now re-offended as their upbringing until the age of 10 must have been horrendous and until the age of 18 was spent in a youth offenders’ centre.

This is not putting the offenders before the victim's family but the cold, hard facts of the situation.

I feel very sorry for Ralph Bulger and Denise Fergus that they are going to be dragged into this situation by the media many more times over the years when they should be left to get on with their lives.

Jon Venables should now be in court, under his new name, and stand trial for his latest crimes. He should then be sent back to jail, if found guilty of breaching the terms of his licence and released again under the same stringent terms and watched for the rest of his life.

Gary O'Neill, Greasby

Justice too lenient

I HEARD Albert Kirby say in an interview about Jon Venables that he must have breached his conditions a number of times to be taken into custody.

And here we are thinking one false move and you are back.

Denise Fergus was right all along and I have always felt that this case sent a message out to child thugs that they will get lenient sentences. Since 1993 things have spiralled out of control.

M. Dunford, Frodsham

Lewis’s memories

I HAVE just read the report that the Lewis's building is to be demolished.

One of my very earliest memories, from before I even started school, my mother used to take me to Lewis's to have my hair cut.

The salon was on the very top floor and instead of sitting in a normal chair they were all animals of various types: a bear, horse, elephant and several others and you chose which one to sit on to have your hair cut.

I also remember that when they had finished cutting your hair they singed it with a taper.

This memory dates back to about 1926. Although I have spoken to friends in Liverpool about this I have never found anyone else who remembers this. Would any of your readers confirm that I am not dreaming this?

Marjorie Evans (nee Warham), St Annes on Sea

NHS must care for all

WITH regards to Debra Kamber’s letter entitled "Celebrate the NHS" (ECHO March 2).

I'm very happy that her sister’s stay in hospital had a good outcome however, had this not been the case the family would be joining all the people who knock the NHS.

Maybe we could all join in the "appreciation day" however. We need all employees of the NHS in every hospital, on every ward, to be dedicated, professional, patient, communicative and most of all have a good caring attitude to look after every patient (old or young) in every possible way.

A. Lee, L32

Sick of animal cruelty

I FELT compelled to write to the ECHO through anger and complete disbelief at the recent reports of severe animal cruelty and torture taking place in our city.

I was sickened when reading a report about a gang setting their dogs on defenceless animals, gaining gratification from such brutal torture. Then another story about a dog in Kirkdale doused with petrol and set alight.

It makes me feel physically sick and ashamed of the city I live in to think that people are capable of doing such things to animals and it is deeply disturbing that they seem to get such pleasure out of it. I can not understand how the minds of these evil people work.

J Hedderick, Clubmoor

The evil men do

FIRST, a boy sets dogs on a cat and a fox cub. Then men set a dog on a pregnant deer. Then yobs set a pup on fire.

And these are only the incidents we hear about. What's to be done?

Nothing, if the defence for the first case has anything to do with it, for he said, in effect, that after all, it was just animal cruelty they were found guilty of, it wasn't as if they were mugging old ladies or hurting children.

Do you think this is right? I certainly don't.

I agree with Angela English (ECHO March 5), the party which brings back justice gets my vote too.

Anne Graham, L12

Road bump madness

HOW can the city council find the time and money to lay thousands of road bumps but not the time or money to repair the thousands of potholes that have appeared on Merseyside roads since the big freeze?

Also how much damage do these two hazards do to the environment, from the extra exhaust fumes due to millions of car journeys that now have to be made in second and third gear for most of the trip?

Am I the only driver who thinks this road bump madness must stop, and that the potholes should take priority? It’s enough to give you the hump.

J.Cowley L13

Make your mind up

THE Conservative candidate for Wallasey intends to not only run for parliament but for the local council too. This means, if successful in both elections, she will have two jobs: local MP and local councillor.

Given the demands on MPs, how on earth would she have time to perform the duties for both?

The Tory parliamentary candidate must make her mind up now about what she wants because I don't even have one job and here she is wanting two!

Nicola Maylor, Wallasey

Older drivers safer

SO DEE of Liverpool, is of the opinion that older drivers should be subjected to regular medical examinations and compulsory annual driving tests (ECHO letters March 2).

My view is that all drivers should be re-tested on a regular basis irrespective of age.

If Dee would care to do a little research, she/he will find that older drivers are in fact the safest of any age group, mainly because they drive lesser distances than younger drivers, are less likely to speed, commit offences and tend to drive more cautiously.

These findings are from recent research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Their report, entitled Older & Wiser, reveals that the number of car drivers aged 17-19, records the highest number of killed and seriously injured (1,100) in any age group measured, the lowest numbers being recorded (160) lies within the 60-79 age group.